By Ronaldo N Kalangi
Kampala: The Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has told court that they are hunting for former Kampala Metropolitan East Police commander Siraje Bakaleke, dead or alive.
Bakaleke,34, who is on the run, already has two arrest warrants after failing to show up at the Anti-corruption court over cases of fraud. With the ongoing case, Senior State Attorney, Ms Harriet Angom, asked court not to dismiss the matter because the state is fully committed to look for Bakeleke until he is brought to book. Her submission came after one of Bakaleke’s lawyers, James Byamukama, asked court to dismiss the case on grounds that there is no sufficient evidence pinning his client. But Angom argued that the fact that Bakaleke is hiding and that there is enough evidence from witnesses shows that the case still holds water. Later, the trial Magistrate Moses Nabende extended the warrant of arrest against Bakaleke and adjourned the case to May 27.
This means that Bakaleke should be arrested on site by any police officer or citizen/s and taken to the Kololo-based Anti-Corruption court. The extension of his warrant of arrest followed t failure by prosecution to execute his arrest and have him delivered to court to answer allegations of abuse of office, embezzlement, obtaining money by false pretense and kidnap. Bakaleke is believed to have fled into exile to escape the long arm of the law. He faces the charges with six other police officers who include; Robert Munezero, 31, Innocent Nuwagaba, 32, Robert Asiimwe Ray, 37, Junior Amanya, 28, Gastavas Babu, 27 and Kenneth Zirintusa, 26, plus a businessman who is the managing director of EYEPOWER Engineering Company, identified as Samuel Nabeta Mulowooza, 30. Recently, the Inspector General of Police Martin Ochola instructed his officers to declare ACP Bakaleke Away Without Official Leave (AWOL) after he’d spent three months without reporting for duty.
